Double Agents
by CaitlinWalker
Summary: So what happens if the CIA's two most popular couples end up going on a double date? With spoilers for those who have not seen up to 4x02. A fluffy couple based fic. (I do not own this show and all credit must go to the wonderful cast and crew of this show)
1. Chapter 1

"August Anderson, you've got a lot of explaining to do."

The shrill exclamation came after the usual thump of a handbag onto the floorboards. Auggie sat fiddling with the collar of his shirt, wishing he could make use of the mirror in front of him so he could sort out the tangled mess of his tie. "Don't know what you mean, honey," he called back sweetly and far too innocently.

Annie's heels clacked against the wood. Louder than usual. Yep, the heels and her voice did not lie. She was pretty pissed at him. "A double date? With the Campbells? In apparently less than an hour, yet I only found out about like an hour ago?"

He stuck out his bottom lip, tilting his head in her direction, all for emphasis. "The picture's pretty clear. I'm not sure what sort of explanation is required here. If I were you, I'd start getting ready."

The mattress sunk in as Annie plonked herself down next to him at the end of the bed. With force, almost intent on snapping the wooden bed frame. Boy, she was mad. "Why? Why would you do this to me? To us? Their relationship is not exactly rosy right now, never mind how shaky things are between me and Joan. Why, Auggie, why?" She grabbed hold of his collar and shook him violently for every despaired "why".

"Tell you what. If you sort my tie out for me, I'll tell you." He flashed her a cheeky grin.

He smelt lavender as she leaned into his ear, her warm breath tickling his skin. "Tell you what," she whispered. "You tell me or I'll strangle you with that tie."

"Ouch, Walker. You'd really do that to me?"

"Well, saying as Joan cornered me in the lobby asking me if I was looking forward to tonight to which I had to use all of my years of espionage experience to wrangle tonight's plans out of her," Annie paused to take a well-needed breath. "I'd be more than happy to strangle you. So, answer to your question. Yes, I would."

Auggie shook his head. "So much for nice Annie. OK." He clapped his hands. "You wanna know why? Well as you may know, Arthur and Joan's relationship is about as steady as a see-saw. So Arthur asks me to do him a favour since he knows about us and, he thinks anyway, a double date wouldn't be as potentially as hostile as a one on one with Joan right now. I'm helping him out, see?"

"Hm, OK. But I'm still not happy about this." The bed shifted as Annie manoeuvred herself behind Auggie to save him from his clothing predicament. "I'm really digging your suit tonight, Agent Anderson. You remind me of a certain British spy."

He liked how her fingers oh so intentionally brushed against the nape of his neck. "OK, so I'm Bond. You want to be my sexy Bond girl that can kick some ass?"

Annie fake sighed. "Man…if it comes down to it, I really hope its Arthur. Joan's pretty scary at the best of times…now all these pregnancy hormones…oh boy."

"I seriously cannot believe Joan is pregnant. I mean that kid is either going to be the most gifted and privileged child in America or the most messed up one if they don't get their act together."

"Yeah. Dinners with the President and a scholarship to Harvard on its first birthday. Tough life. But remember. That was a secret. So not a word tonight mister."

"My lips are sealed. But seriously? I'm happy for Joan. And Arthur. Maybe this is just what they needed to draw them closer again. I hope so. Even with Arthur now gone from the agency, a happy Joan is the best sort of Joan." The tie was sorted, yet Annie's hands did not leave, pressing down on his tired and overworked neck muscles. He was not complaining. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"You know how we are Walkerson? What are Arthur and Joan?"

"Um, they're the Campbells. Duh."

"No, don't be sensible." Auggie smiled as Annie's hands moved down to his shoulders, freeing all the tension that came with tracking down international terrorists. "They need a Walkerson type of name."

"You mean a shipper name?"

Even though Auggie was enjoying the sensation of her touch he couldn't help but spin around. "A what?"

"You know like in TV shows, there's a couple you really want to get together or you think they make a cute couple so you join their names. Like in Castle, Castle and Beckett are Caskett. Or celebrities. Brad and Angelina are Bradgelina." A smile tugged at Auggie's lips. "What?"

He wagged an accusing finger. "Oh my god, Annie Walker. You are a shipper!" He pushed himself onto his feet, standing on the king-size as he pointed down at her. "Of all people? You're a shipper? Oh my lord, this has not just made my day. This has made my life!"

"It's really not that big a deal, Auggie…I mean, c'mon. Just because I believe in romance-. You know, why should I be ashamed?"

Auggie finished his gleeful bounce on the bed before unsteadily dropping back to his knees. He took a second to catch his breath. "So, Walker…we need a name for the Campbells. Think."

"Well…" She begun but never finished her sentiment.

"You had one already, didn't you?"

"Sorta, yeah." She was holding back on him.

"Out with it," he barked.

Annie spoke with a distinct pride in her creation. "Arjo."

# # #

"For God's sake, Arthur. Get a move on."

Arthur grabbed his suit jacket from off the door knob on his way out of the bedroom. He took the stairs two at a time, almost bumping into his wife at the bottom. Joan stood there, steely eyes and arms crossed. That look told you a heck of a lot and nine times out of time, not a good lot. "Sorry, honey. I-."

"God's sake, how much cologne are you wearing?"

Arthur dared to meet her gaze. "I-I only-."

"We are only going out on a dinner date with two operatives. You're not brownnosing any female senators to get the agency any grants." She shook her head. "Although, why we're going out on a date with Walker and Anderson is still beyond me."

He pulled his jacket on. "Good for morale. Those two are the brightest prospects within the ranks. One day, they'll be the new us. Time to get in there quick so we can get a footnote in their legacy."

Joan made that noise. It fell between a pondering "Hmm" and an "I think you're sprouting a whole load of crap "Hmm"".

"It'll be fun, honey. I booked that nice Italian uptown. The one that has that amazing rosé-." Seeing her face stopped the current direction of his words. "That, pregnant women cannot have. I'm sure they're noted for their sparkling water, though."

Joan shook her head as she walked over to the coffee table to pick up her keys. "Just so you know, I'm carrying your child. Therefore, since it is our baby if I cannot drink wine, you cannot drink wine. OK?"

He really didn't want to argue. He valued his life too much. "Absolutely. That is completely fair."

"Exactly. Those rules also apply to caffeine. Doctor Johnson recommends no more than 200 milligrams a day. OK?"

"Sure," he lied. His wife was good but she couldn't keep eyes on him all day at work. He loved nothing more than his cappuccino first thing, and then at eleven followed by his dark coffee at lunch and then whatever caffeine pick me up he chose at three. "It's only fair."

"Good." She had that smile on her face again. The one that always sent shivers down his spine. She saw right through his pretence but was going to let him dare to try disobeying her. "Now. It is six-fifty. The reservation is for half seven. Shouldn't we be getting a move on?"

He glanced at his Rolex and nodded. "Absolutely." He offered his arm but she stared it down. "Let's go, shall we?"

"Absolutely," Joan muttered as she headed for the door. "Let's get this over and done with."

# # #

"Can I ask you a question, Arthur?"

Arthur looked up from the pavement. "Sure. Anything dear, go on."

Joan bided her time a little as she tried to formulate the correct way to express herself. Screw it. After the hell her husband had put her through recently with the so-called affair, his subsequent resignation and the painful pity stares she'd consequently received at work, there was really no need to try and preserve feelings. Especially his. "What do you hope to gain from tonight? Really, I mean. Don't try to recycle all that nonsense about building bridges and boosting morale. Why, after everything that has happened recently, have you gone to all this effort?"

His answer was not instant but he found the courage to spit it out. "It's what you said…after everything, I just…I just want things to work out. Once it did and we were happy…then we weren't and it hurt me and I know it hurt you. Now with a baby on its way, our baby, it's time to put things right. "

"And you thought double dating with two people we see at work every day, or used to in your case, would do that?"

Arthur was sheepish with his response. "Well, yeah." Joan laughed. "What's so funny?"

"My God, Arthur Campbell…the master of romance. Who needs cupid when you've got you?"

Joan's laugh was infectious. "Yeah, yeah. Lap it all up. I'm trying…I just thought with Annie and Auggie, the chance of me putting my foot in it and you painfully correcting me were minimal."

Joan shook her head and the two still had a smile on their face, their hands finding slowly finding each other's, until the got to the entrance of Lorenzo's. "The hell?"

Arthur placed a hand on the piece of paper taped to the glass doors as he read it out. "Due to unfortunate damage caused by plumbing issues, the restaurant has had to close. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused and look forward to honouring your reservations at a later date, with a discount and our apologies. Thank you for your understanding."

"Well that's unfortunate." There was a sincere lack of sincerity in her voice.

"Isn't it just," he mumbled in response, turning around as the brakes of a cab squeaked on the road behind them. "Perfect timing. Here's the cavalry."

Annie led Auggie out of the taxi, taking her time to pay the driver. The couple were taking smart to a whole new level – Auggie in his black suit completed with gold cufflinks and Annie in a violet dress with a plunging neckline that made Arthur afraid to look in the presence of his wife. "Hey guys," Annie called out.

"Good evening. Um, slight change to plans, I'm afraid." Arthur pointed at the deserted five star restaurant.

"It's shut?" Annie proclaimed. "Well, that's just great."

"Brilliant…and I was looking forward to dining at one of the president's favourite places as well," added Auggie.

Annie freed her hand from Auggie's to read the notice for herself. "So that's it then? Night's over before it's even begun?"

Arthur looked at Joan, who was trying to communicate with her eyes. Yet, Arthur found himself going against his wife's silent words, hoping that his initial unpopular move would be appreciated in due course. "It seems a shame that we've all went to such an effort for nothing. The night's still young."

"Yeah, it is," Auggie took the lead from Arthur. It seemed that it was the men who wanted this evening to happen. The ladies were reluctant to say the least. "So what do wanna do? Crack open a few beers…you know, get the night really going. Allen's is always open."

"Anderson, that is a fantastic idea." Arthur smiled, though it was fuelled by the look of horror on his wife's face at the very suggestion at, at best, a decent bar with a menu of food that tasted a lot better once one is intoxicated. "Allen's it is."

Auggie shouted to stop the cab he'd arrived in from pulling away. He and Annie hopped in first. Arthur and Joan toiled behind, giving Joan the perfect opportunity to mutter a threat into Arthur's ear. "Oh boy, will revenge be sweet. This is gonna cost you. Severely."


	2. Chapter 2

Joan Campbell had only ever been in Allen's a handful of times. She'd heard about it though, cheap booze and supposedly good times. She was sitting, sipping on water and waiting for the conversational lull to end. For heaven's sake, there were four spies sitting around a table – there was hardly a shortage of stories to tell.

"So…" It was Arthur that decided to dip his toe into the water. "Allen's, huh? I used to go here when I was a rookie agent. Good times."

"Yes…one of our first dates happened to be here," Joan muttered, the memory still horribly fresh in her mind. Arthur, with hair floppier than it was today, again dragged her here. That was the night when another rookie, fresh off The Farm, decided to hit on her. Arthur had intervened before she kicked that jerk's ass. "We got kicked out…not after Arthur here had a beer thrown over him and bruised knuckles from breaking some guy's nose. Long story."

Arthur smiled. "Good story. Good memories."

"You know, this is our first real date," Annie piped up. "Discounting the whole Columbia trip, that is."

"If I'm being honest," Joan took another gulp of water. "I'm surprised it took you that long to get together."

"Really?" Auggie both looked and sounded surprised.

"Oh yes. In fact, there was a pool going on about you two. Some people," Arthur shot a glance to Joan. "Got quite rich from it."

A smile tugged at Joan's lips. Not just at the couple of hundred dollars she won for putting down her guess of three and a half years which turned out to be the closest guess in the DPD, but her joy was also fuelled by the mix of both surprise and downright awkwardness on the faces of the couple in question. "Oh, c'mon. When you learn to read people for a living you can't help but make your judgements about the people around you. I've experienced a workplace romance, I know the signs."

"I-I…" Annie looked at Auggie for what to say. But he was equally as stumped. "Thank you?" She mustered.

"You're welcome." Arthur added. "Of course, we were never going to say anything nor gossip about you two but it was…inevitable."

"Yes," said Joan. "And, I wouldn't normally say this due to the technicality of being boss of both of you, but since we're double dating tonight, I'd just like to say that I'm happy for you. I really am. Just avoid the pitfalls of dating a spy, i.e. don't keep secrets, and you'll be just fine."

"Thank you." This time Annie's expression of gratitude was more sincere and assured. "And we're happy for you two. Or, should that be, you three?"

Joan glared at Annie before Arthur exclaimed, "You knew?"

Annie looked like a deer in headlights, stammering for words. Normally, Joan would have been pissed that a secret, shared in confidence in the ladies' room at Langley, had been so openly violated. But Annie's priceless face made combined with her own happiness at finally starting a family, put Joan Campbell in an unfamiliar happy place. "It's OK, he knows now."

"Whew..." Auggie dramatically wiped invisible sweat of his forehead with his hand. "And she was worried about me accidently mentioning it."

Arthur laughed. "That's women for you. They're just as bad." Joan shot him a look. "But not you honey. Now," he clapped his hands, swiftly changing topics. "Who's up for a game of darts?"

"Well," Auggie held his palms up in the air. "Unless you want a dart in your back, I think I'm out."

"You know what?" Joan rose from her seat. "Me versus you."

Arthur's eyes widened. "Honey, you really-."

"Arthur I am three months pregnant, not an invalid."

"No, it's just I never thought you played, that's all," he said, sheepishly.

"Well…maybe you're about to find out," she said with the sort of steely determination she liked to use to scare her operatives. Confidence, delivered with a threat. Throw in a couple of years playing darts with her father when she was younger and combined with the knowledge that her husband, despite his bragging, was not the darts expert he claimed.

"OK then. Bring. It. On."

# # #

Annie sat, watching intently as Auggie buried his head in the crook of her neck, wondering if one day they'd end up like the legendary CIA couple now forever known to her as Arjo. Twenty odd years later and yet still they acted like a pair of teenagers in love. Not that they'd ever admit it but actions spoke louder than words. Sure, they'd had difficulties especially in the last few months but watching their intense game of darts you'd never guess it. The flirty threats, the not so subtle excuses to touch one another and the even less subtle innuendos.

"Annie?" Auggie murmured into her neck.

"Yeah?"

"Who's winning?"

"Who do you think?"

"Joan. By a long shot."

"Correct. And correct. I think Joan's trying to teach Arthur how to play this game…there's a lot of, um, touching."

"You know for once, I think I'm actually a little glad that I can't see this. Unlike you, I don't ever have to look them in the eye after seeing all of this…um, touching."

"It's kinda cute. I've never seen them like this…they're so…happy. Even after everything."

"You want cute?" Auggie planted kisses along her neck, slowly and gently. "I'll give you cute."

She smiled. "I'm sure you will. Hey, there's a jukebox over there…you wanna dance?"

He too smiled, getting to his feet first and offering his hand to help her up. The perfect gentleman. "I didn't think they still made jukeboxes but heyho. And, for the record, I did dance lessons as a kid so you may wanna follow my lead."

"Oh you did, did you?" Annie loved how she was constantly finding out new things about him; even know she knew him so well. It was refreshing and lovely. "OK…songs. Let me see…ooh!"

"Ooh what? Blind man here, I can't see what the fuss is about."

Annie slipped in a quarter and picked her track. "Don't You Wanna Stay", the duet between Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson. One of her favourites. "It's music dummy. You don't need to see…you need to listen. Let the music take you."

The next four minutes and seventeen seconds were magical. From the opening piano keys to Jason and Kelly's beautiful voices and harmonies right until the last fleeting guitar chords, everything felt right. They moved in rhythm and kept their bodies close enough to one another to feel the heat that radiated from their skin. Annie was every bit as natural as Auggie.

"You know…after Lena shot me and I was in a coma…I dreamt of this moment. Dancing with you…it was perfect. This was perfect."

"Better than Colombia?"

"Way better than Colombia."

They went in for a kiss, only for the moment to be interrupted by the other couple on this date. "Hey, you two…we're heading back to ours for some real beer…you wanna come?" Arthur called.

Annie looked in Auggie's eyes. The night was still young and there was more magic to come. "Sure."


	3. Chapter 3

Auggie nudged Annie's arm like a persistent child. "What is it honey?" Annie hissed at him, adding the term of endearment to purposely annoy him like his prodding annoyed her.

He found her ear and whispered into it. "What is it like?"

Annie was perplexed. "What is what like?"

"Arjo's home. Is it fancy? It smells fancy."

Annie supressed a smile. She'd only visited the Campbell residence on a very limited handful of occasions, barely even got her foot in the door and into the plush foyer before today. Now she was sitting on a chocolate leather sofa, waiting as the aforementioned Arjo picked a wine from their wine collection. They'd been gone a while, five minutes maybe. How long did it take to select a bottle? Either their collection was vast or all that tension generated by the extra touching in Allan's had bubbled over into another activity. "Can you please stop smelling people's homes?"

Auggie raised his nose from a cream cushion and dropped it back onto the sofa. "I'm sorry…" He snaked an arm around her waist, edging closer and brought his nose to her neck. "You smell lovely."

Annie smiled, letting Auggie nuzzle her neck until the sight of Joan Campbell caused her to jump to her feet, Auggie almost falling face first into the three person sofa. "Got one?" Annie nervously asked, hoping that that public display of affection had not been seen by her boss. As much as she enjoyed her boyfriend's touch, she was not one of those that really liked said public displays of affection. It might encourage Arjo.

"No." Joan showed her empty palms.

"But…" Arthur's voice boomed from the kitchen before he excitedly hurried into the room, carrying a box that rattled. "I've got something else. Something fun." He tried to emphasise the last word.

"Monopoly?" Annie sort of questioned, although it was it was meant to be a fake cry of enjoyment.

"Yes..." Joan said begrudgingly. "Arthur wanted to "liven" things up a bit."

Arthur gestured for his wife to take a seat, patting the sofa opposite Annie and Auggie that he sat down on. He seemed to ignore his wife's obvious discontent, a smile on his face. "Now, I know what you're thinking. How can a blind guy play Monopoly?" He pointed at Auggie.

"Well…" Auggie began. "It was certainly at the top of my concerns."

"Exactly." Arthur snapped his fingers. "Let's play teams. Couple versus couple. Annie can be your eyes for you."

"But-."

Arthur interjected Annie. "How is that fair? Two sets of eyes versus one?" He reached into his pocket, magically pulling out a black strip of cloth. "Blindfold." He had a cheeky smile on his face.

"That'll work," Annie remarked, although she was still wasn't sold on the idea. For one, she hated Monopoly. It was the only board game her family had and played when she was growing up and Danielle was the biggest cheat going. Two, she kinda sucked at it. But no, she was a guest at the Arjo residence. They were the hosts. Who was she to complain?

"Now," Arthur turned to Joan, daring to raise the blindfold up to her eyes.

She glared at him. "Blindfold me, Arthur Campbell and you're sleeping in the car tonight." Then, as only Joan could, she smiled in that way that chilled the veins of everyone who witnessed it.

Arthur quickly retreated. "Well, it looks like it's the ladies won't just have the beauty but the eyes tonight." He gestured to Joan. "Little help, darling?"

"Sure, honey." She took the blindfold from his hands, wrapped it around his eyes and pulled the knot so tightly Arthur jumped and let out a little yelp. "Yeah he can't see."

# # # # #

Thirty minutes into their game, Annie weighed up the biggest decision of her life. North Carolina Avenue. $320. Price wasn't the concern. It was Joan Campbell's icy eyes that the purchase depended on. North Carolina Avenue would complete Annie's set of green coloured locations and combined with Park Place and Board Walk, her complete dark blue set; it would complete her set of the game's most expensive properties, making that whole side of the board a living hell for Joan if her dog token landed there.

If the sale went through and Joan hit those squares, possibly bankrupting her, Annie may not have a job in the morning.

She turned to her business partner. "Auggie, we've got two grand and North Carolina Avenue is up for grabs. Do-."

"Sold." Auggie reached to the pile of coloured notes on the little cabinet next to him. He'd arranged them in descending order and therefore found it easy to scrape together three hundreds and a twenty. "I believe it's your turn now, Joan."

Joan slowly reached for the die, glancing at her small pile of notes. They were playing the game until one team went bankrupt. If she rolled a three, four, six, nine or an eleven, she was screwed. The die rattled in her closed palm before she tossed them across the board. Damn it.

Annie squealed and grabbed Auggie's arm. "Nine…nine…nine. It's nine!"

Joan didn't bother to look as she pushed her token around the board. "Well isn't that fantastic? Park Place."

"Which, as I recall, is fifteen hundred dollars if you so please," Auggie smirked as he held out a hand. "What? You can't pay up?" He was teasing a coiled viper that looked ready to pounce.

Annie couldn't help but smile at Joan's priceless face, even though it scared the heck out of her. But how many times had she got one up on Joan Campbell? Hell, how many times had she actually won a game of Monopoly? Take that Danielle! You didn't need to cheat to win. At Christmas time there was definitely going to be a rematch – and Auggie could make a return as her business partner. And boyfriend. Geez, this might have been the first Christmas in ages, if ever, that Annie had a boyfriend to enjoy the holidays with, never mind the most amazing, caring and loving boyfriend that Auggie Anderson was.

"Well, I guess that's the game." Joan measured her words and goose pimples appeared on Annie's skin. Wow, she was bitter. "Any other games that you'd like to play?"

"Rematch?" Auggie remarked.

"Mr Anderson, I'd rather play strip poker than that damn, blasted, silly and quite frankly childish game."

"Funny you should say that," Arthur began to work on untying the tight knot that held his blindfold in place. "There's a pack of cards in that cupboard over there."

Annie sniggered.

"Oh c'mon guys! Why don't you speak for yourselves? Hello blind guy here! A little unfair to play strip poker when not all can enjoy the game."

"Well that's just a shame," There was a hint of humour in Joan's tone. "Arthur here was willing to represent our team." Everyone laughed, earlier Monopoly tension evaporating. "Now I don't know about you but I'm starting to get hungry."

"Oh, me too." Arthur said. "We could always have that chocolate cake I bought the other day." He stood up but Joan was just as quick to push him back down on the sofa.

"Why don't the ladies sort out some snacks whilst you gentlemen can chat amongst yourselves?" Joan gestured for Annie to follow her.

Annie swallowed as she got up to take Joan's lead into the kitchen. She hoped to God, Joan was over the Monopoly defeat. Especially since there was a block of extremely expensive and sharp knives on the kitchen counter.


	4. Chapter 4

Joan had pointed out where the supposed chocolate cake lived, in one of the cupboards that hung over the marble kitchen counters. Annie ignored the collection of cans of Pringles, putting the five tubes of Sour Cream and Onion potato snacks down to Joan's pregnancy cravings. After all who was she to question a hormonal Joan Campbell?

"Do you love him?"

Annie nearly dropped the cake box she had just grabbed. She stalled for time, gently placing the container on the counter. She kept her back to Joan. "Um…excuse me?"

"Annie, let's not play dumb here. In the three and a half years that I've known you, I've never seen you look as happy as you have these past few weeks. Now, you may deny that little detail but your denial will only confirm what I know is certain." Joan walked over to Annie, leaning against the counter and folded her arms. "And how your face lights up when you see him every morning? That's been the same for the last few years."

"Um…" That sound was the only sound that Annie seemed to be able to produce. Joan was right. She couldn't deny her feelings.

"Tell me something as you're obviously not comfortable with answering that question. Where do you think you'll be in ten years' time?"

Annie paused wondering if this was one of those questions that supposedly revealed something about you. Truthfully Annie had never given her future much thought. Ten years was a long time. She preferred to take each day at a time and savour them, more so now with the perfect man by her side. She didn't want to tie herself down to long term goals and targets. "I've never really looked that far forward."

Joan smiled. "Good answer."

"W-where do you think I'll be?"

"Well…" She had that knowing look on her face. "You really want an honest answer?"

"Um…" Again with that sound. Use words, not sounds. "Yes."

"Well," Joan began to pace, her heels clicking on the laminate flooring. "In ten years' time, you'll be married with kids and you won't have stepped foot in Langley for a good few years."

Annie stared at Joan. The first two details sounded pretty much perfect and Annie could only hope she was in that position. But the last? "I won't be in the CIA? How can you be so sure? I mean I've spent years trying to get where I am."

"Yes but you've also now got something else that you've spent years trying to get. And in our line of work, you can barely the next day, let alone the next year. You know that better than anyone."

Annie found herself nodding. "If that's the case then what was so different about you and Arthur?"

Joan looked up at the ceiling and smirked. "Things…things took a while to click between us and by the time we could truthfully admit we were happy with one another, we were safely behind desks, not out in the field. We've never had it as easy as you and Auggie did."

"Easy?" Annie scoffed. "Things have never really seemed, as you put it, "easy" until these past few weeks."

Now it was Joan's turn to scoff. "Not easy? Honey, I never said it was really easy. But you've had it a damn sake easier than most people. For years, you were…I don't know what you kids call it these days…"fighting your feelings"? That's it. I thought it was a little bit ironic when you and Auggie where trying to convince yourselves you were happy with Simon and that Parker girl."

Annie bit down on her lip. Simon Fischer was a memory that still burned her heart. He was nice enough guy and he cared. Bbut everything had seemed a little rushed, maybe a little off in retrospect. But she did like him- love was a strong word. If things hadn't turned out the way they did, maybe she'd still be with Simon.

But the mention of Parker made her skin crawl. She never deserved Auggie. Never.

"I'd seen you two from the start…the feelings began to bubble from that very first day. It got to the point that, when you were shot, seeing Auggie as…broken as he was, although he'd never admit it, broke my own heart.

Annie closed her eyes as everything that she remembered about her stay in the hospital flooded back to her, overwhelming her.

-ONE YEAR AGO-

The days seemed to be getting longer as her need for sleep decreased. Seeing the same four walls surround her, bored her to tears. But for those two hours, beginning every evening at seven, she always had the biggest smile on her face. Today was no different.

"You know for a place that is meant to care for people, they really aren't that welcoming for the visually impaired," Auggie muttered as he entered her private room, using his stick to find his way over to his usual white plastic chair. His usual cute grumble about the cluttered hallways.

"I'm pretty sure if you get out your chequebook, there'll be a long line of doctors and nurses running to your rescue."

"That's true." He dropped his rucksack onto the ground with a thud. "You should be thankful that the agency's insurance policy is paying for your stay here. Private room, a doctor at the press of a button…that's great service for you. Yet, I've got to sit in a crappy cheap seat. I deserve better."

"You do." Annie reached for his hand and squeezed it. In so many ways. "You guys any closer to finding Lena yet?"

Auggie sighed. "Sorry. We're still no farther forward than we were yesterday. Or the day before. I'm sorry, Annie."

"It's OK." She was half expecting that answer. It'd been the same answer every time she asked.

"Now," he smiled. "How are you today?"

His question made her smile. It wasn't asked out of sympathy for the girl who had nearly died. It was asked out of genuine concern for the girl who had nearly died. "I managed a five minute walk today."

"Five minutes? Awesome." He held up a palm and she high fived it. "So ten minutes tomorrow?"

"Ha…five minutes hurt like hell. I'm not going to rush things."

"Fair enough…but if you can manage ten minutes tomorrow, I'll sneak in some contraband for you."

"You will?" That was a tempting offer. Basic meals of soup, sandwiches and salads were really starting to grate on her. "What are we talking about here? Ice cream? Cola? Chocolate?"

"Maybe all three. On one condition. You manage ten minutes and you get Doctor Robinson to confirm it to me that you managed it and I'll see what I can do. Deal?"

She smirked and shook his hand. "Deal."

-NOW-

Those memories fresh in her mind, she turned to Joan with a new found confidence to answer the earlier question. "Yeah. I love him."


	5. Chapter 5

"Where's my husband?" Joan asked as she re-entered the living room with Annie.

Auggie looked up and shook his head. "Don't know…he said he had an idea and dashed up the stairs."

Joan frowned, tempted to go searching. She resisted the urge and placed the bowls, one for her visitors filled with cheap salted chips and the other, full of Pringles for herself, down on the table. Annie sheepishly followed her and took her seat next to her significant other. They looked so comfortable together it filled Joan's heart with a little joy. She and Annie had had their troubles in the past, their relationship strained more than ever over the past year, but tonight seemed like a refreshing change. There was no work to cause friction and the somewhat happy atmosphere about tonight was proving it was work that had been threatening to drive a wedge in their friendship.

That and that bitch Lena but the less Joan thought about her the better. Unless it was thinking about that bitch's body laden with bullet holes. That always brought a smile to her face.

"Everyone," Arthur's booming voice was followed by his noisy footsteps as he sprinted down the stairs like a child on Christmas day. "How about we-."

"Oh no you don't Arthur Campbell." Joan sprung to her feet, marching over to him. "You take that back upstairs now. There's not a chance that we're-."

"Karaoke anyone?" He held the machine over his head, as if shielding it from his wife.

"Not a chance in hell." Knowing she'd lose in trying to wrestle the system out of his hands due to the simple fact he had the slightest of height advantages over her, she settled for the folding of the arms and the glare she'd perfected after all these years. The glare, tried and tested to scare the shit outta folk. She always took pride in that. None more so than the day she was selected to give a seminar at The Farm and scared an obnoxious little trainee who, apparently, quit later that day after she'd decided to give him what's what. "You put that back."

He avoided her gaze and somehow slipped past. "Annie, Auggie. Up for a song?"

The two operatives looked at each other, their own telepathic communication between the fully sighted girl and the blind guy. "Um…" Annie began, tailing off when Joan took a step closer to them.

"It'd really have to depend on the song," Auggie remarked. "I'm not really up for having to read the lyrics."

Arthur clapped his hands. "It's settled then. Karaoke it is."

Was her husband going out of his way to annoy her? First the whole notion of a double date, then Allan's then this? Truth be told, she wasn't hating tonight and she'd had a lot of fun at Allan's but this? This was a step too far. "Plug that in and you'll regret it."

Arthur looked up from fiddling with the cables he was trying to plug into the TV. He grinned. "Regret what? Fun?"

"Really? Fun? Is that what humiliation is these days…fun?"

"You'll have to excuse Joan here…she isn't a big fan of karaoke or even singing these days."

Her eyes widened and she tried to jump in before the sharp hearing of Auggie latched onto those last two words. "Arthur-."

"These days? What are you trying to tell me Joan was a songstress back in the day?"

She didn't need a mirror to tell her that her cheeks were beginning to crimson. For some reason, she couldn't conjure up a response fast enough and her husband got in before her.

"Yep. Sang in the clubs on the sly I believe. Well…I know now for a fact that she did. Buddy of mine told me all about it not long after I first met her…turns out there was also a video floating around of that very act she was most famous for."

"And that is?"

Why did she feel so darn helpless? Too slow to get a word in edgeways. Darn it.

"Oh I don't even know how to describe it…it's sort of a cabaret show – is that the right term, honey?"

She continued to glare at her husband, staring at him hard enough in the hope that his head would explode just to shut him up right there and then.

Arthur grinned that cheeky smile again and if she wasn't so mad at him right now, she'd find it adorable. "I don't think she's going to confirm that for us, but I'm gonna say that's a yes. Anywho, it was this whole cabaret show thing she did with a few other girls. She was the lead singer and sorta," he made gestures with his hands, trying to conjure up the words. "Sorta the leader of a tribe? Little skimpy little outfit, topped off with a…actually you'll never guess what."

"What?" Auggie seemed far too keen to know. Annie was being smart, not daring to join in. Good girl.

"A toy axe," Arthur beamed as Auggie snorted. "Yup…as I said I've got the video footage to prove it."

Finally she found her voice, scared to death that her husband would retrieve that video and play it in the almost antique video player, she was convinced he only kept to play that god forsaken tape in. "You do that and I'll make damned sure that your all your clothes will be in a goodwill shop first thing tomorrow morning."

Arthur froze, her words taking effect.

"Is it really that bad?" Auggie muttered.

"Not at-." Arthur again stopped, fearful of his wife. He held his hands up. "Oh c'mon, honey. I was gonna say it was kinda hot. It's not embarrassing. It's entertaining."

"Yeah for you," she muttered. "That tape is almost twenty years old. Taken at a time where I was near broke. I had to work my ass off for every dollar that I made."

Annie nodded thoughtfully. "I've been there."

"See? Whilst you two run off to the navy or the army, us ladies have to find every little way to make ends meet."

"Yeah," Annie laughed. "I worked in this one place, probably the most wild bar out there, and made sure I got tips by "accidently" spilling beer down my top and singing and dancing on the actual bar."

Auggie nodded his head. "You know, that's kinda hot."

"Maybe…but I think the point Joan's trying to get at, is that we all have certain things in the past that we don't want to revisit. We have regrets about the people we were. Maybe we should just leave it at that."

Joan looked at Annie and the young operative's face, along with her tone was talking about so much more than iffy job choices. The rawness…the painful honesty that laced her words…Annie was talking about Lena and what happened between her and Joan.

Joan nodded and smiled at her. "Well said Annie. We all have things we want to forget…things we wanna change. But we can't, so we must do our best to move on and put things right."

Arthur was still half frozen, kneeling on the floor with a connection cable dangling from his hand. He looked like a lost little puppy. Lost. "Um…so no karaoke?"

Joan unfolded her arms and took a seat. She dramatically sighed. "Oh go on…don't make me out to be the bad guy. Just don't expect me to get involved, OK?"

# # #

The look on Joan's face was priceless. It fell somewhere between "What the hell is this noise?" and "Please just shoot me so I don't have to hear anymore." Annie and Auggie had been strangely keen to kick off the night's concert and were onto their fifth, and judging by the look on his wife's face, final duet of the night.

It did not take two to make a thing go right. Annie and Auggie were making things go wrong, horribly wrong. They were both as bad as each other and Arthur wondered if Annie would have made much in the way of tips by purely singing and not catering to the male crowd the way she must've.

Arthur did his wife a favour by jumping in quick as the song finished. "My turn. Or is it our turn honey?"

Joan glared back, fit to kill. Boy was he glad she kept her off-duty upstairs.

"So…my turn." He flicked through the song choices and his eyes lit up as he found one he just knew was there. "I'd like to dedicate this one to someone special."

Joan rolled her eyes.

"We've had our ups and downs…more so recently but through it all we're still here. Together."

Singing Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful" was a simple throwback to one of their first dates. Truth be told, they were a little tipsy that night but Arthur felt as sober as a judge and saw everything so clearly when he took her hand that night and uttered the first line of that song, which besides being the song's title was also the god's honest truth. Gazing into her eyes now, it felt like nothing had changed. He still loved her as much as he did back then. Maybe more.

He meant every single word of that song and felt a little guilty for the tears that were left in her eyes at the end of it. He could put it down to hormones but he saw out of the corner of his eye that Annie was also tearing up a little.

He took Joan's hand. "I love you, honey."

"Making a pregnant woman cry…you know that's cruel." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you too."

# # #

Watching this rare public display of affection by the Campbells was one of those little things that restored Annie Walker's faith in humanity. A couple that'd been to hell and back were still very much in love. She wiped away the tears gathering in her eyes and smiled. Lovesick teenagers.

She took Auggie's hand and planted a kiss on his neck. They only had a quarter of what Arjo had. But that was a hell of a lot. And she was thankful for all of it.


	6. Chapter 6

"Auggie…"

"Yes Annie."

She shifted closer to him on the couch. "Mom and dad are busy in the kitchen."

"Mom and dad?" God, he knew that Arthur opening that bottle of wine for his guests after that round of karaoke was not a good idea. Annie sure got tipsy very quickly. But it was very adorable and he was keen to play along. "What are they up to?"

"I don't know and let's face it…after all that touching," he wasn't sure whether the sudden clawing at him was to demonstrate her point or was the drink talking. "I don't wanna know. But I'm bored," she whined like a child.

"You wanna go home?" He felt for his watch, flipping the plastic casing. It was just after ten.

"No, no, no." She nuzzled his neck before coming back up for air and taking his hand. "I wanna explore."

Augier's eyes widened. "Explore what?" Was this her strange way of coming on to him whilst she was severely intoxicated? Why was he starting to feel a little worried? "Annie…" He muttered in that same way he always did when she was about to make a bold move on a mission. God, did he say that a lot.

She took his hand and pulled him to his feet. "This big ole house. The Arjo," she giggled. "The Arjo are "busy" doing what I'm just going to call, "classified" business in the kitchen. And we're just left here to do nothing. Well, I'm bored-."

"And extremely intoxicated." He added for good measure.

"Shush." She placed a finger to his lips. "And follow me. They'll never notice we're gone."

"Oh, I bet they will," he muttered under his breath. Unless they were both blind and incredibly stupid. But he knew better than to argue with Annie Walker.

# # #

"God, what are those kids up to?"

Joan couldn't be bothered to peek around the kitchen counter around which they were both hiding, sitting on the ground, her head resting on his shoulder. "I hear movement too. I think they're going upstairs. You sure it was a good idea to give them alcohol?"

"Well, if we wanted some alone time, then yes."

"We could have just asked them to leave, you know?" The night was dragging on, and she wasn't sure if it was just that or the added factor of a growing child in her stomach that was making her feel as though she could just close her eyes and fall asleep on her husband right there and then.

"But I didn't want to just kick them out," he chuckled. "God, please remind me to man up when it comes to our child."

"Oh, believe me, I will. You'll be the bad cop; I'll be the good cop." She smiled softly as she saw the frown on his face. "Hey, I don't want our child to hate me."

"But, you want them to hate me?" He shook his head. "Real classy, Mackenzie."

"Mackenzie?" Her maiden name. It brought back heart-warming memories. "You haven't called me that in ages."

"I know," he said, nodding. "Can you believe us? How far we've come from the days you were Miss Mackenzie…look at us now. We're finally completing our family." He placed his hand on her growing stomach and she placed hers on top. "And I couldn't be happier."

She felt the tears beginning to build in her eyes. Tears of joy. God, these hormones were already kicking her ass. "If you could choose…what do you want?"

"You mean would I prefer a boy or a girl?" She nodded and he smiled. "I really don't mind. Having a kid with the woman I love is enough for me. Hell, being with the woman that I love is more than enough. This child…our little miracle, is a blessing that I am ever thankful for. We're finally starting a family, honey. I will love them regardless."

A tear rolled down her cheek and Arthur wiped it away with his thumb.

He kept his hand resting on her cheek. "Sorry…I need to stop making pregnant women cry, don't I?"

"It is becoming a bad habit, yes." She took his hand off her cheek and grasped it tightly. "I can't believe that this is finally happening. I thought we had missed our chance. Then you had your "affair" and all that nonsense…God, why can't things ever be straightforward for us?"

"Where's the fun in that?" He laughed. "But so what if things have been difficult? Look at us. We're stronger than ever, aren't we?"

"Yeah," she said softly. "We are. Have we been any closer?"

"Well, I don't know…you are pretty close to me right now. Maybe if you shimmy up onto me, maybe we can."

She poked him playfully in the ribs. "Funny."

"Hey that's not fair. You know I can't do that to you. Your crazy pregnancy hormones will have you one minute trying to kill me, the other trying to eat me if I dared tried."

"Yep. And you always thought I was dangerous before."

"That's true. That's very, very, very true."

"That's too many verys, Arthur. One would have sufficed."

"Yes ma'am. Sorry ma'am."

She closed her eyes and sighed. "I don't mind either, by the way. I'm the same as you. I'm just glad that this is finally happening to us. But at the same time…I'm scared to death."

"Yeah," Arthur's voice was as raw and vulnerable as hers. "I'm scared too. But I'm as equally excited. But so what if we're scared? This is all new to us-."

"What about Teo?" Joan cut in. It was almost instinctive and she hated herself the moment it came out of her mouth for potentially ruining this moment. Their moment.

"I never had that chance to be the father that I should have been. I didn't even have a family to be part of. But now, I've got you. And our son or daughter…that's our family. That's all I ever wanted."

"Me too. Not long to go now." She smiled and snuggled into him. "I can't wait."

# # #

"C'mon Annie…I really don't think that this is a good idea."

"Hey, Anderson." She pushed him backwards and he landed on the king-size. "I think this is a wonderful idea and I'm your lady and you have to make your lady happy, right?"

He barely understood a word of that long and slurred sentence. But he did understand the fact that it was an incredibly dumb idea to go snooping in Arthur and Joan's house. Never mind their bedroom. But at least they'd know he was the innocent one in this whole affair. After all, why would a blind man want to go snooping? "Annie, if Joan catches you…" He warned. "She'll go all crazy pregnant lady on your ass. You may not have a job tomorrow morning."

"Didn't I tell you to be quiet earlier, Anderson?"

Why was she insisting on calling him that? Boy was he wishing that he had more than a half glass of that very expensive and strong tasting wine. Because he was damn sure she'd had the rest of that bottle. And it had gone straight to her pretty head. "OK, but at least promise me when we get caught, you'll protest my innocence. I like my job."

"Nuh-uh-uh-uh." She pinned him to the bed and kissed his neck over and over again before jumping off him. "We're a couple…couples do things together…this is a couples' activity. We're in this together."

"Couples can do a lot of things together, you know?" He had a lot more in mind and was anticipating a few coming up. Like holding her hair back as she threw up before she passed out. "Looking through the Campbells' belongings is not one I'd ever recommend."

"Quiet!" She barked. "Now…"

He heard the squeak of hinges. "Annie…what's that?"

"Whoa…this is just like I've always pictured it. Auggie you need to see this."

"Um…blind guy here. Yeah, I may need to but I can't."

"This is Joan's closet. And…boy is it super neat and crazy and wonderfully colourful. Hey you think she'd mind if I tried some stuff on?"

"Annie," he hopped to his feet and stumbled over in the direction her voice was coming from.

Again, she forced him back onto the bed. "Relax August…it's not the clothes I'm interested in."

"Well good. I'm relieved. Now step away from the closet that's worth more than you're annual salary. The closet that may cost you your life."

"No, not the clothes, silly." He heard her drag something over from across the room. "It's that shelf above the clothes, I want. There is a tape somewhere and I want that tape."

"No, Annie." He got up and was, again, just a little disorientated in this big, strange room. "If that's a chair, then I strongly encourage that you do not climb up on it. At least not with those heels on."

# # #

"What about Betty?"

"If we have a daughter, we're not calling her Betty, OK?" Joan warned her husband. It was a very real threat.

"What about Veronica?"

She glared at him. "We are not naming our daughter after comic book characters, OK?"

"Yeah…because we'd have to know what colour of hair they had first. If she takes after you then she'd have to be Veronica. Wait, Veronica is the blonde one, right?"

Joan didn't need to see her own face to know that it was twisted with an almost impossible amount of confusion. "What? Anyway Betty's the blonde."

"Is she?"

"That's besides the point, Arthur…we are not naming our child Betty or Veronica. Anyway, we've got a fifty per cent chance of having a boy, so we need to decide on two names, just in case."

"OK," his forehead knotted in concentration. It was adorable. "My grandfather was called Percival…what about Perry?"

"Perry Campbell?" She weighed the name up in her head. "No, I'm sorry, I don't think it fits. It can be a possible middle name if you so-."

A clutter and a thud that shook the foundations of the house cut her off mid-sentence. Instinctively, Arthur and Joan looked at one another, scrambled to their feet and muttered, "Kids."


	7. Chapter 7

"I always had a feeling that tonight was going to end in a visit to the ER." Joan shook her head and supressed a laugh for the sake of the worried Auggie who was sitting in a plastic chair opposite her. "But I didn't think it would happen this way."

Her husband handed her a paper cup of water before he sat down beside her. "The poor kid looks worried as hell."

"He does," she whispered back. He had the same look on his face as he did a few months ago, in this very hospital, when Annie was shot. And it made her feel like the worst person on the face of the earth every time she laughed when the image of Annie lying in a heap on their bedroom floor popped into her mind. "But this is entirely self-inflicted. I told you that you should never have given her that wine."

"Hey," Arthur held his hands up in protest. "She should never have been climbing chairs in six inch heels. She should never have been climbing up on our chairs in the first place."

Joan nodded. "That's true. What the hell was she up to?"

"She was looking for your tape," Auggie piped up, his worry fading with that comment. A sorta smile appearing instead. "That's what she was looking for."

"My tape? Was why she-." Joan stopped herself from continuing that sentence when a doctor approached them. His face was a cross between "I should probably not have heard that" and "what the hell are they talking about?" God, she thought. The guy probably thought it was a sex tape.

"Friends and family of Annie Walker?"

"Yes," Auggie stood to greet him but the doctor ushered him back down as he took a seat alongside the blind tech operative.

"The good news is that your friend has no neurological damage from the fall but, as a precaution for all cases in which the patient loses consciousness, we'd like to keep her in overnight just to be on the safe side."

"Bad news?" Joan cut in. All she had heard was good news. It was nothing more than a bump on the head which would be followed by a big shiner in the next few days. Should there be bad news?"

The doctor sighed and placed his chart down on his lap. "The bad news is that we can't find your friend."

"You can't find her?" Auggie exclaimed.

Joan snorted. Typical Annie Walker. She saw the looks she was getting from the three guys that surrounded her and she shook her head. "Inappropriate, sorry. How do you mean you can't find her?"

"Well," the doctor began. "As you may or not know, Miss Walker was severely intoxicated and the effects of her alcohol consumption has clearly still not worn off. We've got security looking for her."

"I'll go." Auggie jumped to his feet. "I know I'm not the best one out of all of us to go looking for her but let's face it. I'm probably the only one who can make her see any sense in this state."

Joan looked at Arthur and they both nodded. "Sure, we'll just wait here for you, right honey?"

Joan nodded. "Yep. That's fine by us."

She watched Auggie set off down the corridor and she made sure she caught hold of the doctor, Doctor Gallagher was what his name badge read, before he shot off as well. "Um, excuse me." She lightly grabbed his arm, standing to her feet as she spoke in a hushed tone. "That tape…it's not what you think it is, OK?"

He stared blankly back at her and gave a half-hearted smile before he turned to leave. He still didn't look convinced.

"I'm not a-." Her eyes almost popped out of her head as she realised what words she was about to say. "It's completely innocent," she insisted. "Family friendly viewing, I promise."

Doctor Gallagher continued nodding his head as he walked down the corridor.

"Honey, are you OK?"

She felt Arthur's hand on her shoulder and she turned to face him. "You try feeling tired, hungry and a little sick at the same time and let me ask you if you're OK?" Again, the words came too quickly out of her mouth and this time she was unable to stop them. She buried her face in his chest. "Sorry, sweetie. It's just…there's too much going on and it's a little overwhelming."

He rested his head on top of hers. "I would say that I understand but I really don't. But that's one of the few things that I can't do. I can care and I can love…but I feel like I do that every day anyway."

She looked up at him. "Can you stop being so darn cute, Arthur Campbell?"

"I can try," he grinned. "But I'm making no promises."

She smiled and shook her head. Then she heard the cry of a child coming from a room to their right. Her smile widened. "Hey…you know what we can do whilst we're here?"

# # #

She had him in her sights.

Target locked, she proceeded.

She dodged the carts, nearly lost her footing as she rounded a corner as she tailed him before she made her move.

"Got ya!" She threw herself at him, knocking him to the ground and landing on top of him.

"Annie?" He wheezed.

"Nope." She wrapped her hand around his eyes as he attempted to push himself up. "That's Anne…Catherine…um, Walker to you, Anderson."

"Annie get off of me," he muttered as he got to his feet with Annie on his back, giving her an unintentional piggyback. "Annie, you need to be resting. Get off me, please."

She wrapped her hands around his eyes. "Hey…Auggie."

"Annie, if you're trying to stop me seeing, can I please remind you that I am already certified blind. You're just wasting your own energy, you know that? Just like you did when you tried and, well succeeded, to sneak up on a blind guy."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where are mom and," she hiccupped and giggled," dad? Are they still here? Or did they have to go and finish their "classified" business?"

"Please get off me."

"That's what they said," she laughed, burying her head in his neck.

"Annie…"

"C'mon Anderson lighten up. Who knows what they were doing in that kitchen…on the kitchen counter, who knows?"

"Annie," his voice was loud and scarily strict. It hit her hard. Tears began to roll stream down her face.

"Auggie, I'm sorry. Don't be mad at me. I'm sorry."

"Annie…please stop crying. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, OK? C'mon, we need to get you back to bed. You need some rest and you need to sleep this off, OK?"

She sniffed. The urge to cry quickly fading. The urge to vomit quickly rising.

# # #

There was a reason she'd spent almost two decades pushing herself, putting herself under tremendous amounts of pressure to get stuff done. A nice fat pay check, top quality healthcare and a pretty sweet office were only a few of the perks. The handsome husband that it had led her to was a welcome and lovely bonus. But there was one perk that made everything worthwhile.

The ability to get what she wanted with one phone call.

Who cares if the crabby old lady who sat behind a desk in the maternity unit said it was "too late in the day to meet her request and that her appointment wasn't for another two weeks anyway"? She was Joan Campbell. The head of the DPD. And like that bitchy judge who took away her phone a few years back in court when she was doing her civic duty, that old grouch was going to learn the hard way that Joan Campbell always got her way.

"And that's your baby's heartbeat," the pleasant sonographer said with a genuine smile.

Arthur leaned in to kiss Joan's forehead, the tears glistening in both of their eyes.

Joan grabbed Arthur's hand and squeezed it tightly. "That's our kid…that's our child."

He smiled and brought her hand up to his lips. "This is finally happening," he chuckled. "This is actually finally happening."

She nodded softly. That was why she couldn't wait any longer. That was why the desire had almost knocked her sideways when she had seen that new mother with her child. She needed to see that this was real. Up until this point, it could have easily been the sweetest, most perfect dream imaginable.

But this was no dream.

This was real life. And she couldn't be any happier.

"Does the happy couple want to know the baby's sex?"

Joan only had to look at her husband for the briefest of seconds, just for confirmation. "No," she said with a smile. "I want the little one to keep on surprising us."

# # #

Arthur had his arm wrapped around his wife's waist as they both looked down at down at the printout of their unborn child, all the way down from the maternity unit right back to the waiting room.

They nearly ran into Auggie who was carrying a fast asleep Annie Walker in his arms. "Annie threw up on me," he sighed.


	8. Chapter 8

For someone who was initially against the whole idea in the first place, even she couldn't deny how memorable last night was. Good friends, a trip to the ER and feeling the closest to her husband than she had felt in years. Maybe ever.

But she couldn't just thank her unborn child for that. Annie and Auggie played their part too.

"Hey you," Arthur stirred from his sleep. "What are you thinking about?"

She turned to look at her husband. "What aren't I thinking of?" She snuggled into her husband's side. "Tell me something…when I'm super crazy pregnant, you'll still love me, right?"

"Hey," his voice cracked. "You're the mother of my child…I'll love you even more. If that's even possible."

"Good," she muttered. "Guess that will be the best time to tell you what happened to your signed Cowboys shirt last night."

"Yeah, I suppose—." He paused. "Sweetie, what do you mean by "happened"? That shirt was in a safe place…or I thought it was."

She stroked his chest. "You really wanna know?"

"Um…I don't think I really wanna know but can you please tell me?"

Joan smiled. "Well, it goes without saying that Walker was really drunk last night and that was your fault. So I guess you could say that what happened was entirely your fault."

"No…no…no. I don't think it was. Um, honey, you're worrying me right now. Can you tell me please, pretty please, what happened?"

She sniggered. "I found it crumpled in your study."

His voice was like a little's boy who had just lost his balloon. "But it was…it was in a frame. It…"

It was adorable just how concerned he was for a piece of fabric with a good dozen or few unintelligible signatures. It warmed her heart to think about how protective he would be for their future child. "Not anymore it wasn't. I think you're going to have to buy a new frame. Which brings me to the next problem."

"More?" His voice was barely a whisper.

"Sorry, honey. More." She rested her head on his chest. "I can't help but think that your study would make a perfect little nursery. It's bigger than the spare room and much warmer too. I was thinking that we could have the cot just by the window."

He kissed the top of her head. "You know what? That is one sacrifice that I am willing to make. Hell, that is one of many sacrifices that I am willing to make for our little family."

"That's good then," she smiled. She could hear the steady beat of his heart and if she could, she'd happily close her eyes and drift off to the rhythm. "Because Annie trashed that too."

# # #

"That was my favourite shirt you know," said Auggie as he had to lead his lady into the DPD that morning.

"I know Auggie and I'm sorry." She felt like hell. Her head hurt in so many ways – ways she didn't even think were possible. Not to mention she felt bad because she knew what a mess she was when she drank wine. "Now, can you just drag me to my desk so I can die peacefully, please?"

"Fine," he sighed. "I would try and carry you again but I'm scared that I'll end up with puke down my neck. Again."

"Funny, Anderson."

His eyes widened. Every time she now called him that would bring back memories of last night that would haunt him forever. "Don't call me that, Annie. Please."

She was as confused as hell at his request but shrugged her shoulders. "OK…but, please Auggie. I really need to die in peace. So, can you do the honour?"

"No problem."

Boy, was it such a relief to be able to finally shut her eyes and gently rest her head on her desk. She was finally in relative quiet until she heard her name being barked at from across the bullpen.

"Annie."

Annie looked up and saw Joan standing at the door of her office. Arms folded. Icy glare in her eyes. Shit, Annie thought. What the hell did I do last night?

Legs trembling, Annie knew that it wasn't just her horrific hangover that was making her wanna throw up again. Damn, she should have never come in today. Damn, she should have never touched that white wine. White wine always did funny things to her. If it was red wine? Well, she'd still have a hangover but at least, she and Auggie would be in a much better mood when they woke up this morning.

"Good morning, Annie." Joan's smile was rid of any emotion. It was so darn hard to try and read Joan Campbell. "Did you enjoy last night?"

Annie's eyes sank down onto the head of the DPD's desk as she tried to conjure up an answer. In the ten or so seconds that it took, Annie noticed a new frame that sat alongside Joan's usual pinky-red frame that had the most adorable shot of her and Arthur in it. "Um…yes. Thank you for having me. Thank Arthur too for me."

Joan shook her head. "It was our pleasure, really Annie. But there are matters that we need to address from last night." She reached down to a drawer and pulled out an old video tape and a folded piece of paper. "Here, is the tape that you almost broke your neck for last night."

Oh…that was it. It was all starting to come back to her now.

"And this is a letter of resignation that I wrote up last night and got your drunk, out of it, ass to sign. Now…one of these items will be given to you to keep and one of these items will be placed in a burn bag and destroyed within the next ten minutes. Your call, Annie. You can have the tape or you can keep your job."

"Um…" Boy, did she want to see that tape. But she knew better than to mess with Joan Campbell. "Can…can I keep my job, please?"

Joan nodded. "So you want to keep your position in the DPD and thus destroy this tape?"

Now Annie nodded. Slowly, disappointed that she'd never get to see Joan in her crazy, wild days. "Yes, please."

"Good call," Joan smiled. Annie noticed how it was one of the most genuine smiles she'd ever seen from the woman. Relief. "Good girl. Now, go home and get some rest. You're in no fit state to work."

Annie smiled. Something told her that things were gonna be all right between them again and that last night had certainly helped. Even if she couldn't remember a damn thing. "Thank you, Joan."

She waited until Annie had left her office until she picked up the framed picture of her and Arthur's child. Last night was so much better than she had ever expected.

Last night was unforgettable.

**Author's Note – This fic has been an absolute pleasure to write and I am overwhelmed by such a fantastic response from you, lovely readers. All your kind words really inspired me to write this and for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.**

**Just for you lovely people, I will be writing a follow-up fic to Double Agents called "A Delivery of Decisions" that should be up on this site within the next two weeks.**

**Thank you again for all your feedback, follows and favourites.**

**You all ROCK!**

**Caitlin**


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